What other cultures can teach Americans



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This summer I spent a week in Nicaragua with a team of people. We got around the city by piling into two very old vans. One day, a Nicaraguan pastor asked if he could have a ride into town from a local village we were visiting and our leader graciously said yes. What our leader didn't know is that he was agreeing to take the man 30 minutes out of the way. Our team was squished in that van like a bunch of sardines and were pretty miserable. This pastor was not trying to be selfish. It was clearly their culture. He needed a car, we had one. Thirty minutes to an American was a huge inconvenience but not to this man. Thirty minutes seems like nothing in Nicaragua.

It got me thinking about how different cultures operate and how the idea of sharing is not a way of life for many Americans. Sharing our resources is genius really and we should do it more. Here are some ideas of things that you and a neighbor might share. Feel free to post more ideas:

•  A Vegetable Garden.  My dad has shared a garden with a neighbor for years.  The man had a large piece of land but was getting a little old to tend to a garden. My dad, who lives on a shady hill, could do the work but needed his property.  Every year there is enough harvest for both families and many more.
• A magazine subscription
• A newspaper
• A ride to work
• A meal.  Even if once a week your neighbor cooked enough for their family and your family and then you returned the favor...the convenience and cost savings would add up. You don't have to eat together.
• Babysitting
• Lawnmower
• Contracted trash pick up (if your city/county doesn't pick up)
• A load of mulch
• Lawn aerator
• Firewood delivery
• Power washer
• Snow blower
• Leaf blower

What else?